Seize the Day
by CharismaPoison
Summary: What happened when Alice Brandon was committed to the asylum when she was a teenager? What if she had met someone there that would change her life forever, that would impact her future in ways that even she had never seen coming. This story contains many original characters and feedback is very much appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

1.

So what if I never hold you...or kiss your lips again...  
Alice Brandon's eyes opened, looking around wildly as she did so, it had been so long since those words were spoken to her and in that voice and yet it sounded so familiar to her, like an echo that she couldn't quite make out as her hazel orbs looked around the empty room of her padded cell and she sighed softly. He had been gone a little under twenty-four hours, and already she felt her vision burn and memories fading with time, the electroshock therapy she had been undergoing was threatening to make her to forget it all. She had to hold on, had to force herself to remember, if she forgot then she might forget the sound of Joseph's voice and she couldn't imagine going through life without remembering him, she knew he would be coming back for her, she just needed to be patient, that was all. She reminded herself of his promise to return for her as she let her memories come to life before her eyes, she couldn't forget, there was just no way, she had come too far to give up now...

It was December 1916, Mary Alice Brandon had been committed to the Briarside Institution for the Mentally Incapacitated...a fancy series of words to state that one was being committed to an insane asylum never to be seen from again. She was fifteen years old when her father dragged her inside the building, she tried to fight him but her short stature and petite frame made her far too easy to pick up and carry over his shoulder as tears streamed down her cheeks, she was afraid and there was no way to deny that she was, she wanted to go home. No, she wanted to run away and never come back, to forget the visions about seeing her mother murdered, the ones about her father paying a man to do this to be able to marry his mistress, the ones about paying the same man that had murdered her mother to come for her next. She knew that the day would come, she had run to her aunt's house but they had turned her away, they didn't care for her strange gift at all, so she had run to the marshal who had promptly taken her back to the home she had escaped from just hours earlier, calling her a liar for the things she had claimed. Her father had been livid that she had run off and worse, had told people the truth though no one believed it, Jackson Brandon was far too well off in the community to ever be thought such things about.

So now here they were at Briarside where he planned on having her committed and forgotten about, he had already stated to many that he was taking her to a special hospital on the outskirts of Mississippi that specialized in rare diseases to have her looked at. It was his plan to go home and tell people that she died while she was there, so that no one thought to come looking for her, that was the best way to go he thought as he didn't want anyone to ask questions about her whereabouts or what had happened to her. Alice knew that there was no way to get out of this, she had tried to do anything she could think of, right down to pleading and promising that she would never tell anyone nor would she ever run away again but to no avail as he set her on her feet so he could fill out the commitment papers. The moment her feet touched the floor, she bolted for the door but was grabbed by two orderlies, taken down to the ground screaming as Jackson filled out the paperwork, the director of the institution watching over the scene as she screamed that she wasn't crazy and didn't need to be there. To no avail, as a female nurse came to escort the two orderlies with Alice to her new cell, she tried to fight but there was just no use in trying to get away, they towered over her and their muscular frames showed no signs of letting her go.

A melody, a memory, or just one picture...anything that could take away the pain for even just a moment or two in time, she had a feeling that these walls she was being taken were the walls of death and the only way she would ever be taken beyond them was when she was stone cold and no longer breathing the air of the Earth. She was thrown into a padded cell, the storm slammed shut and locked before she could reach it, pounding on it to be let out, clawing at it until her nails were broken and her fingertips were left bleeding, tears streaming down her cheeks as she shivered in cold and fear. She could hear the wailing and caterwauling of the other patients down the halls, carrying on about how they wanted out or screams of pain, people talking to themselves and so much more, it frightened her down to her very core. She moved away from the door and into the furthest corner of the room, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs, staying as small as she could as she began rocking back and forth, singing a soft song her mother had once sung to her to herself over and over, trying to block out the sounds beyond the door.

It was nightfall when the door was finally opened once again, a woman standing in the doorway in a pristine white uniform that stood about five foot seven to five foot nine in height, she had blonde hair trapped in a tight bun at the nape of her neck and striking blue eyes as a soft and very fake smile appeared on her lips. "Mary Alice Brandon, I am your nurse Francine, I expect you to take orders and be good otherwise you will be stripped of any and all privileges that come to you, do I make myself clear?" she said firmly, hands upon her hips as Alice licked her lips and nodded. "Good, on your feet Mary Alice, you will be referred to as such merely because we have four different patients with the first name Mary, now follow me and nothing bad will happen to you," she said, waiting for Alice to get slowly to her feet before taking her by the arm and escorting her out of her cell. She was stern, there was no denying that, and Alice was sure that outside of these walls she was probably a very good person with a good heart but in here she had to put on a front to be sure she kept her job, she didn't hold it against her, not many women were allowed to work in these days yet.

Still though, she was unprepared when she was taken into a small room and ordered to remove her clothing, Francine watching her as she did so before grabbing her by her forearm and leading her into the shower, turning on the icy cold water as she did so, pushing her under the water. Alice gasped as the cold water make goose flesh appear upon her arms and she shivered as she felt someone grab her hair to wash it before cutting in painfully short, her locks that had once gone down to her waist now gone and forgotten as something was muttered about the possibly outbreak of Typhoid. Once she was cleaned to Francine's standards, she was moved into a clean room where she was given a set of pajamas that were so light blue that they were almost white and told to put them on before Francine moved her into a new padded cell, closing the door behind her. "Sleep, or no breakfast in the morning," she ordered, closing the small window that looked into her room from the door, leaving Alice to sit on the uncomfortable bed shivering. She was more frightened than ever as she took the thin blanket and covered herself with it the best she could, closing her eyes and attempting sleep.

She awoke when footsteps approached and stopped in front of her door, keys jingling as she sat up, the door opening to reveal a man standing there, he was at least in his thirties, very pale with black hair and eyes the color of liquid Topaz, that was the only way to describe them in her mind. He smiled, it reached his eyes he noticed, as he gave a gentle bow of his head before he spoke, and she would forever remember that his voice sounded like silk if it had the embodiment to speak. "Good morning Mary Alice, I am Jacques, your run of the mill orderly and humble servant if I may be so bold to say so," he said, that same smile on his lips, almost as if reassuring her that it was alright to come out, another patient at his side that had long auburn hair that fell to his ankles and violet eyes. "Don't be afraid, this is Nathan Wilson, another patient and lost soul such as yourself, I am only every nice to the special ones," he said, Nathan's eyes twinkling as she finally came out of her cell to take Jacques hand, and he squeezed it gently. "Now then, off to breakfast shall we?" he said leading them to the large cafeteria.

"Alice...I like to be called Alice," she said softly as they walked and she saw that friendly smile come to Jacques lips once more, he seemed pleased to hear her speak and she decided that she liked him much more than she did Francine. "Ah then, Alice, it seems you have fallen through the looking class but consider me the Mad Hatter and Nathan here the March Hare that have come to lead you upon the way shall we?" he said, prompting a soft giggle to escape her lips, she remembered her mother reading her those books often, they were her favorite. She nodded her head, her now short, black hair bouncing around her face as they showed her to a table that she could sit down at while they went to collect breakfast for her so that she did not have to wait in the horribly long lines, and they soon returned, Jacques with two trays, one of which he set down in front of her so that she could start eating, which she did slowly despite the blandness of the food.

"I found that if you don't think about what you're eating it goes down a bit easier," Nathan said softly as she nodded and thought about it from what he said, it was easier to eat that way she had to admit and was thankful that he had suggested it. She wondered why Nathan got to keep his hair long when the rest of them had such short hair, almost at if he had read her mind, he cleared his throat and looked at her. "They keep cutting my hair but it grows back so fast that they finally grew tired of trying, plus I have a natural immunity to Typhoid," he said, which made her nod, it made sense to her indeed. And so began the tradition of eating their meals together-she, Nathan and Jacques who almost never touched a thing on his tray, stating that he had lunch in his office if he got truly hungry. She was scheduled to start seeing a doctor but he was not to arrive until sometime after Christmas, so she would just have to bide her time until then, her birthday was on the twenty-first and she would be turning sixteen before she ever saw the doctor.

The weeks passed by rather quickly, though Jacques came the night of her birthday to let her out of her cell along with Nathan to have a small birthday celebration together, she noticed that Nathan looked worn and had since the full moon though she never questioned him, she knew that this place was draining. It was the day after Christmas when the new boy arrived, she could hear him from down the hall screaming that he was not crazy and she sighed, she felt sorry for him, she had been there just weeks earlier and knew his screams would be to no avail as she sat upon her bed waiting for Francine for her morning shower. She came two hours later, taking her harshly by her arm, it was clear the nurse had had a very bad night prior as she gripped Alice so tightly that she had bruises forming on her pale skin underneath her fingers before she was told to strip down and get into the shower. Francine was behind schedule which meant that Alice was the one to pay for her anger, stepping under the cold water as the new boy was brought into the large shower room, told to wash himself up, and she looked over her shoulder at him. He had light brown hair that was short, it had recently been cut she could tell and when her hazel eyes met his soft brown ones she felt almost a jolt before he turned his back to give her privacy and she did the same.

Once dressed, she was taken back to her cell to wait for Jacques to collect her for breakfast, hearing the new boy put into the cell beside hers, his calling that he was not crazy as the orderlies walked away and she heard him sigh as she sat next to the vent that connected her room to his. "They won't listen to you, they never do, its best to just do as your told so your privileges aren't stripped away from you," she said through the vent to him, laying on the floor to look into his room, startled a bit when he laid down to do the same. "Thanks for the advice Bright Eyes...my name is Joseph...Joseph Adams, my grandmother had me committed because I see things that come true," he said, a faint smile on his lips as he looked at her. Alice was flustered at his calling her Bright Eyes but she quickly recovered and cleared her voice before speaking, noting that she was suddenly nervous as her eyes remained on his. "My...my name is Mary Alice Brandon though I prefer to be called Alice, I was put in here because I had visions of my mother being killed and seeing my father hire someone to do it, he sent me here so I wouldn't cause anymore problems for him," she said, smiling softly, it was nice to know there was someone else like her there.

The door to her cell opened, and she straightened up to see Jacques standing there with his usual friendly smile upon his lips, Nathan in the hallway waiting for them as well, watching her get off the ground with a quizzical look in his eyes. "Why Alice, why ever were you on the floor just now?" Jacques asked waiting for her to exit her cell as she smiled brightly. "I was talking to Joseph, the new boy, he's like me Jacques," she said with an excited smile as he chuckled and closed her door behind her, going to Joseph's next. "Well if that's the case, why don't you invite him to come along with us to breakfast," he said as he unlocked the door so that Joseph could come out, and Alice was surprised to see how tall he was, standing at his full six foot four stature, his eyes meeting hers and making her blush faintly. "Would...would you care to accompany us to breakfast? This is Jacques, the nicest worker in the asylum and this is Nathan, another patient, they can't cut his hair because it grows too fast," she said.

Joseph smiled then, a brilliant flash of white teeth as he shook hands with Jacques and Nathan before looking back to Alice with a nod of his head, her eyes meeting his once more, like a magnetic pull kept her looking back to him over and over again. "I would really like that, my sister always said seize the day or die regretting the time you lost, so no time like the present to start living by her motto," he said, telling them of his twin sister Jessica and older brother Gabriel back in Rochester. He told them of how his grandmother had tricked him into accompanying her to a meeting in New Orleans but instead brought him here and paid for him to be forgotten about, Alice knew what that was like as she did had had her father do it to her. Jacques told her to go and take their usual table and the three of them would go and get her breakfast as well, Joseph watching her go as she walked to the table and sat down while he moved with Nathan and Jacques.

"I see the way you look at her, you knew her in a past life or you dreamed of her long before you met her," Nathan said as they stood in line together, prompting Joseph to turn and look at him quickly, unsure how he could know that, but the violet eyed man merely smiled. "I have dreams like that too, all the time, its part of the reason why I was committed here, my parents were afraid of me so they got rid of me, better than being on the streets again I have to admit. Alice there just turned sixteen about five days ago, locked up in here for seeing the truth and trying to stop it, not a lot of us are locked away for telling the truth and making our parents fearful of us, Jacques always knows which of us were though and makes sure to keep us together," he said. Nathan was twenty-one and had been there for nearly six months now, during the full moon he had a hard time and had to be moved to a different cell that he would not be able to break out from for the safety of the workers and the patients at his own insistence.

Joseph nodded as he carried his tray and walked with the other two men back to the table, sitting down across from Alice with a smile and watching her as she returned said smile, her hand reaching up to brush a lock of short hair from her eyes before she began to eat, hearing Nathan give him the same advice he had given her awhile back. They all talked of their homes, Nathan from Saint Louis back in Missouri, Joseph back in Rochester in New York, and Alice from small Biloxi right there in Mississippi, even Jacques spoke of his home in Glastonbury before he had come to the United States. It was a fun morning before they had to return to their cells, Joseph's hand brushing against Alice's and sending an electric current up her arm as she looked up at him to see that he had felt the same thing before he took her hand and bent the far distance to kiss it softly before returning to his cell just before Alice returned to hers next door, her cheeks blazing pink as she leaned against the door and smiled, her first encounter with Joseph Adams and already she was smitten as she slid down to the floor and crawled over to the vent where he was waiting...their bond had already started to be forged and for once, Alice had someone that she could confide in.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

"Carpe Diem..."

Joseph's voice made Alice open her hazel eyes, turning her head to look through the vent at him and seeing his handsome face break into a smile, bringing her hand to her eyes to rub them, the day had dragged on as it often did in the Hell that was Briarside, the only thing that you looked forward to was meal time and if you were lucky, going to the art center or library but you had to be on your best behavior for those. "You look exhausted Alice, you should get back upon your bed and go to sleep before Francine comes in the morning for shower time," he said, frowning softly as he watched her. She smiled and shook her head, she had spent the duration of her time trapped in her cell that day talking to him through the vent and she didn't want to go to sleep just yet, she couldn't understand why not. She supposed it was because she had never met anyone that had the same affliction that she did and that understood how hard it was to be able to see things and not be listened to when you gave warning to those around you.

"Mm...no I'm alright Joseph, go on with what you were saying about carpe diem, I have heard the term before but it never registered to me, I guess because no one ever told me what it meant before, I never knew it meant to seize the day," she said as she rolled onto her side, reaching out to pull her thin blanket down to cover herself with. She had never had such long conversations with anyone before and she was thrilled to have someone to talk to now, despite the late hour and that they had to speak with hushed voices so the night crew would not know they were awake, lest they lose their privileges to other things. She found herself anxiously awaiting breakfast so that she could see him face to face again, he was so lovely to look at and she found that it made her heart skip a beat when he would look to her and their eyes would meet, she wondered if it was the same for him but didn't have the gall to ask him. She brushed her messy hair from her eyes as she heard his soft chuckle echo through the vent, her eyes watching his through the wrought iron as his eyes met hers, almost as if he had known what it did to her and what she was thinking about it.

"Its a beautiful saying really, I have found that living by it, especially with the things that I can see before they happen helps me, seize the day or die regretting the time you've lost," he said softly as he pulled his own blanket down from the bed to cover himself with to avoid the cold that was settling in. He like Alice did not want to move just yet, he had never met a woman outside of his family that was so intelligent that he could carry on long conversations with and found that just the mere sound of a sigh emitted from her lips made his heart beat even faster. If hers was skipping a beat every time that their eyes met then he was gaining that skipped beat into his own heart every time that he heard the softest of sounds coming from her. He raised his finger to his lips when he heard the night orderlie walking down the corridor, closing his eyes to make it seem like he was asleep on the floor, knowing that she would follow suit, though she rolled onto her other side, the orderlie not noting it much as many of the patients did that. He had seen them lay on the beds, on the floors, half out of bed and in so many positions that he wondered how any of them got any restful sleep as he wandered into the next corridor, Joseph's eyes opening to watch her roll over to face him again, smiling when his eyes met hers again, the eyes he had dreamed of for so long.

"I think that is our cue to sleep, he comes by every morning at two o'clock so that means Francine will be here in six hours or so, she won't be kind if she finds out that we haven't slept all night long on your first day here," Alice whispered with the softest of giggles as she watched him through the vent, her heart thudding in her chest as she did so. She didn't want to get in trouble mostly because she was worried that he would be moved to a room further away from her if they were to get caught and she would have to sit around all day waiting for meal times just to see him again, the thought alone weighed heavily down on her. She didn't know why but she had a very strong connection to Joseph Walter Adams and the thought of not seeing him as much as she could all day long brought and ache to her very heart and soul, it was something that she couldn't quite explain but she knew that it was the way she was thinking. She raised her hand to the vent, her pale fingertips pressed through the wrought iron as she did so, her eyes meeting his and a soft smile appearing upon her pale lips as she watched him. "See you in the morning, it's only six hours from now," she whispered softly to him.

Joseph raised his hand to meet hers, his own fingertips pressing to hers as his eyes watched hers, the thudding in his chest so loud that he was sure that it would start to echo off the padded walls of the cell for her to hear it. "Six hours...'tis twenty years till then my lady," he whispered, remembering the line from Romeo and Juliet as he did so, the most famous scene upon the balcony where he spies his lady love and eavesdrops upon her thoughts to herself. Alice was his Juliet, his sun that rose in the East and set in the West, and though he would never utter these words aloud for fear of what the would proclaim of them, he knew them to be true, for he had never seen true beauty before this very night speaking to her. He now understood how Romeo Montague had felt the moment that he had spied Juliet Capulet and lost his heart to her with just one kiss of his lips to the back of her hand, he had lost his heart to Alice in the very same gesture that day when they had parted to go to their cells.

Alice couldn't help but to smile when he quoted one of her favorite books of all time, one she had read so many times that she knew it by heart and would never forget the line's uttered within it as her fingertips pulsed against his in much the same fashion that her heart was beating within her breast. "To that I say, good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow, kind sir," she whispered and watched his ever widening smile that she had quoted from the same book that he had, as if it were kismet, they had been meant to meet and if this asylum is the only place fate could have her rendezvous then she was nothing more than grateful to be here. Never before had she had such intense feelings for anyone in her entire life, she had a feeling that she never would again for she had lost her heart to the young man with the gorgeous brown eyes in the cell next door when he had placed his lips to the back of her hand and kissed it so tenderly. She never wanted it back either, she wanted him to have it though she barely new a thing about him, she didn't have to in order to know that she was falling for him so quickly, she knew that he felt the same with the way that he looked at her.

"Parting is indeed such sweet sorrow Bright Eyes, and I can't wait for it to be tomorrow just so that I might let my weary eyes rest upon you once more before the doors of our cages are barred once more to keep us apart, but they will never truly be able to keep us apart," Joseph whispered before reluctantly moving his fingertips from hers, watching her pull back just as slowly. He knew that he should get up to sleep upon his bed but he couldn't bear the thought of moving from where he could see her, he wanted to watch her until sleep overtook his burning eyes, just so that his last image before then to be Alice. He noticed that she as well didn't move from the floor, watching him as well and he knew that she had to be thinking the same thing that he was, just wanting to watch him as much as he wanted to watch her, to not be apart for even a moment in the night. He had never felt this way about anyone before but he knew that was he felt was not merely an infatuation, but irrevocable love within his heart for this woman alone, he would devote himself to her and her alone if she would just allow him to do so.

Alice smiled softly as she curled up under her blanket, her eyes never leaving his as she felt her eyelids grow heavy with sleep, she knew that she would not be able to stay awake for much longer but she wanted to stay awake for as long as she could, despite that she kept drifting off. She forced herself to open her eyes every time that they would begin to close but that was not going to work forever as she saw him doing the same before both their eyes closed at the same time for the final time, sleep washing over them like waves crashing to the shore. She was thrown into dreams almost immediately, as if he had walked out of his own and into hers, he asked for her hand to dance and she gave it to him, letting him lead her into a waltz. As they spun together, their hospital clothing changed to proper attired for a fancy club somewhere different, such as New Orleans, and the scenery changed to match as they spun together, eyes never leaving one another's as they did so and though she knew that it was a dream she wanted nothing more for it to ever end.

Joseph's hand was warm in her own as they walked along together, leaving the night club to walk together under the stars, pointing out the different constellations and talking excitedly about the ones that they recognized and laughing at the ones that they didn't. Alice noticed that he looked older, maybe mid twenties and upon passing a shop window noticed that she looked older as well, wondering if this was perhaps what the future held in store for them. Night turned to day rather quickly, they sat upon a large porch in the middle of the forest, somewhere that she had never been before, her head upon his lap as he read to her from Macbeth, smiling softly as his voice soothed her in the summer heat, the sun reflecting off the pond in the large front yard. His hand rubbed her arm tenderly, as she brought her hand to touch his as he rubbed her skin gently, she had never had a man touch her in such a manner but it was as if this were all routine to her, thus the fascination with the dream as it continued to shift.

This time it was not broken, she saw herself with golden eyes, a color that she had never seen on anyone but Jacques before so she was a bit bewildered as to why she saw herself with such as she stood on the steps that led up to a stone cottage, Joseph close to her and taking her hand to turn her. He brought her hand to his lips as he bent to kiss it, making her giggle softly before he slipped a hand to her waist to lead her in a dance outside where they was no music, but yet the two of them made their own within their heads. She smiled softly at the scene as it played out before her, she had never seen anything so sweet before in her entire life, she had merely read about it in novels that she was banned to read at home so she had had to sneak them and hide them under her mattress where her father could never find them. It was such a simple scene, but there was so much depth and meaning behind it that her brain couldn't fathom all that it was supposed to mean before it shifted once more, her brow furrowing in her sleep as she watched on.

Joseph himself had had the same dream about the stone cottage and dancing with Alice in front of it, but the next scene he saw was his own grave, the date upon it reading 1947 for the death year and his sister, now forty-nine years old standing before it with her grown children and their brother Gabriel. It was his turn for his brow to furrow as he tried to gain knowledge of the things around them, wanting to know if this was simply a dream of a vision of the future though surely it had to be a dream when he saw Alice come to visit his final resting place. She was no more than twenty years of age, as though she had never aged a day in her life and her eyes were a bright golden color that looked almost alien to the hazel eyes that he had dreamed of and fallen madly in love with long before he had ever met her. As it started to shift, he felt himself call out to her though he knew that she could not hear it, this was a dream after all and that meant that nothing within it was truly real no matter how much that he wished it was.

As the hours passed, Francine came into work to start her rounds, starting first with Nathan whom she was infatuated with but also in fear of because of how different he was, only the higher up staff knew the truth about the young man with the violet eyes and what happened during the full moon. She took him to the showers and waiting for him before escorting him back in his clean pajamas to await breakfast, watching as he crawled onto his bed in a catlike manner, picking up a book to read. She took her sweet time as she watched Jacques walk into the asylum, she was always uneasy around him and didn't know why, there was just something about him that made her skin crawl though she would never dare say such aloud, she had worked too hard to get to the position she was in now to be intimidated. She made her way to her least favorite corridor, opening up the door to Mary Alice's cell and sighing haughtily when she found her sleeping on the floor before walking over to her and pulling her up swiftly by the arm. "Up and at 'em, we're on my schedule not yours," she said, her voice dripping with disdain as she pulled Alice along the corridor.

Having been jarred awake, her vision was blurred and she found that she was unable to walk steadily because of how tired she had been, but staying up late to talk with him had been worth it as she showered under the cold stream of water and dressed in clean attire to be escorted back to her cell and locked in. She sat on the cleaned bed, hearing Joseph be taken to the showers next and sighed, she found that she missed him when he was far away from her like this, the seconds ticking by like minutes, the minutes passing like hours, it was almost unbearable to her as she played with the messy strands of her short hair. Her mind wandered back to the dreams that she had had, wondering what they meant, there were so many hidden meanings within them that she was not sure that she understood what had been real and what had been merely a dream during that time. She sighed softly, her mind a thousand miles away as the time passed by, waiting patiently for breakfast to come to once more be near the man that had started to steal her heart away to make it her own, she realized it now and the time just couldn't slip by fast enough.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

"Every little memory resting calm in me, resting in a dream smiling back at me, the faces of the past keep calling me to come back home, rest calm and remember me..."

"I have to admit that is one of the loveliest things you've ever said Bright Eyes, its soothing and I swear its like I have heard it somewhere before, I don't know why though seeing as I've never heard anything phrased in such a manner," came the Scottish accented voice of Joseph Adams through the vent as he looked through it to watch Alice as she lay on the floor. The months had passed quite quickly since his arrival within the asylum and the two had talked very frequently of their pasts and all that they had gone through during their lives. They had become very close though Alice had to admit to herself that her feelings were very much more than platonic and friendship, though she was almost afraid to say anything to him about it for fear that she would ruin their friendship. She blushed softly, laying on the floor watching him through the vent, brushing a short lock of black hair out of her hazel eyes, she always found it hard to look away from him.

"Mmm, it's something that I heard in a dream that I had, though I couldn't tell you what the dream was about, it was rather strange really," Alice said, smiling softly as she met his eyes through the grate before he raised his finger to his lips and she nodded, listening for what he had heard. There were footsteps along the corridor which brought a frown to her face as it was too early for the orderlies to be doing their rounds but it was too late for it to be any of the nurses or doctors unless someone had had some sort of emergency that required their attention immediately. She looked at Joseph through the vent, he was watching his door which made her watch her own, especially when she heard keys turning within the lock of her door which made her scramble backwards into the furthest corner, hearing Joseph growl softly. He was fiercely protective of her, especially after a fight on Valentine's Day when another girl had attacked her, and that girl's brother had gotten into the act before Joseph had hauled him off her and beat the living Hell out of him as she defended herself against the girl, had it not been for Jacques they would have been in trouble for what they had done to the siblings.

The door to her cell opened, and she was surprised to see the almost golden gaze of Jacques standing in the doorway, his lips curling into a smile when he saw her, and though she trusted him, she was still a bit wary of him coming into her cell so late at night when he had never done so before aside from her birthday. "Good evening Alice, come I want to do something for you," he said, holding out his hand as she bit her lower lip, wondering what he wanted to do, but something told her that she could trust him as she slowly got to her feet with a slight nod. She slid her hand into his, sensing that Joseph was worried without even talking to him, she knew the way that he was about her and her safety, there was something about him that drew her in and made her want to know more and more about him. She let him lead her from her room and stopped with him when they stopped in front of Joseph's door, watching him unlock it and beckon for him to come out for a moment, leading them both outside since there were no orderlies around.

It was cold in the courtyard behind Briarside, but then again it was the last week of March and the season of spring had not really started to unfold completely yet as Jacques wrapped a shawl around Alice's shoulders and handed Joseph his coat before walking them past the large fountain, down a small path just before the trees where there seemed to be lanterns lit upon a small table. "Nathan said that he wanted to do something for the two of you for always being there for him, this is his way of thanking you both for being such good friends to him...I shall be back in an hour's time before shift change to take you back," he said, turning to leave them in the courtyard. Alice looked up at Joseph, blushing softly when he took her hand and bent while bringing it to his lips, kissing it softly before pulling out her chair to help her sit down, the small fire nearby providing a wondrous warmth as he pulled his chair beside hers to sit nearer to her. There was a bouquet of flowers in the center of the table along with two plates of food and dessert, the candles within the lanterns flicking in the very soft breeze as they looked at one another, neither one looking away for a few moments, though both were reminded that an hour was a very short time.

"So I never did answer your question the other night, about my childhood growing up now that I think about it, you asked about my accent and where I was from, which is Edinburgh in Scotland, though I was born in Rochester before being taken back there. We didn't come back until I was twelve, almost thirteen upon a grand ship called the Titanic and while we were on the ship I had a vision of it sinking which my grandmother called preposterous, though apparently not since it struck an iceberg and sank still," Joseph said, twirling some pasta onto a fork and offering it to her, which Alice blushingly ate as she looked at him. She had thought his accent was Scottish but she hadn't been certain having not been around a lot of people with accents besides Southern ones, and she hadn't wanted to guess wrong in case she offended him. She remembered the news about the Titanic sinking, surprised that he was one of the survivors from the disaster, she felt that he was very brave and strong for living through such a thing as she brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Wow...that must have been so terrifying, I've never been through anything like that before, I think the scariest thing that ever happened to me was getting lost on a vacation to New Orleans during Mardi Gras where this kind man showed me back to my mother's arms," she said softly, blushing at that seeing as it was nowhere near what he had been through and she almost felt silly for admitting it. Her hazel eyes flicked, catching the brown ones of Joseph, noting his soft smile as he looked at her and she suddenly felt her heart start to race before she managed to look down at the plate of food before her, picking at the mashed potatoes and eating them slowly. She was nervous now that they were alone within touching distance of one another, she had never felt like this before and was uncertain of how to address the topic of these feelings that she was having, unsure whether or not he felt the same or not. That was what was stopping her from saying anything, she was afraid that he wouldn't feel the same and that he would never speak to her again if she told him how she really and truly felt about him, and she didn't want that at all.

"You must have been so scared, I know I would have been if I had been very young and hadn't known where my Mum or my twin sister were, especially my twin sister seeing as we were inseparable during out youth and really until our teenage years before she met her boyfriend Anthony Black," Joseph said with a wistful smile, thinking about his sister often made him revisit fond memories of his childhood with her. He looked at Alice again, watching as she blushed and smiling a bit brighter, he thought she was so lovely when her cheeks flushed with color, though he didn't dare say anything aloud for fear of embarrassing the young girl about it. He was surprised at how fast the time was flying by as they ate and talked, finding out all about her life with her father and why he had her committed, telling her all about his life and why his grandmother had made sure he'd be forgotten about for the rest of his life. They had so much in common, music and books, goals and aspirations, there seemed to be endless topics for them to discuss, never running out of thinks to talk about for more than a few seconds in time.

Alice bit her lower lip as they spoke, eating her meal as she held the shawl around her shivering arms better, it had been so long since she had been out at night, watching the stars like this, she had almost forgotten what a freeing feeling it was to be able to do so as a soft sigh came from her lips, her eyes falling back to his. "I...I don't know why but I have this urge to tell you this, but I like you...a lot, Joseph and I don't mean just as a friend, I mean that my feelings go much deeper than friendship and I am terrified that you won't feel the same, I will understand if you don't," she whispered softly, looking down at her hands. Her heart was racing in her chest as she felt his hand gently take hers, looking up as he brought it to his lips to kiss it gently, their eyes meeting and holding one another's gaze though he didn't say anything at first. Instead, he leaned closer, her heart pounding a mile a minute before his lips met hers and it felt like her heart stopped entirely, that time was standing still around them as they kissed so chastely, her first time ever kissing a man in her entire life.

"That was presumptuous of me, kissing you like that without asking your permission," Joseph whispered softly as he slowly pulled away from her lips, his eyes meeting hers as he squeezed her hand gently, having never let it go once he had taken it, his heart pounding in his chest. Alice was not the first girl that he had ever kissed but she was the first that he had ever felt like this about, as if she were the only woman on the face of the planet, and to him she was, she had been since the first time he had dreamt of her so long ago. "I...know exactly how you feel, darling, I have felt this connection with you since the moment that I laid eyes on you and to know that you feel the same...its the most wonderful feeling in the entire world, and that is the truth," he said, kissing her hand again as the sound of Jacques coming to collect them filling the air. "I want to be with you, Alice, to call you my own and to be yours," he whispered, fearing that she would reject him, that she wouldn't want this as he looked into her eyes.

Alice was shocked, she had never thought any man would ever say such a thing to her, she was only fifteen years old but she had been convinced that love was something she never wanted to experience after watching what her father had done to her mother, who had only ever loved him and been devoted to him. Still, she wasn't as terrified by Joseph asking her this as she would have thought she would be, the thought of being his, and being able to call him her own making her heart race as she looked into his eyes and took a deep, shaking breath to calm her nerves. "I...I would love to be yours Joseph Adams and to be able to call you my own, I want to be with you, I know this better than I know anything else that goes on around me, my heart is yours for as long as you wish it to be," she whispered softly, hearing Jacques as he stopped nearby and cleared his throat gently to alert them that he was there, a soft smile on her lips as she looked into Joseph's face. "Jacques...what is the date today, at this very moment?" she asked softly, her hand still in Joseph's as she smiled softly at him.

"Well seeing as it is well after midnight now my dear, it is the twenty-eighth of March," Jacques replied, watching Alice and Joseph as they stared into one another's eyes and smiling wistfully, the looks they gave one another reminding him of a long, lost love that he hadn't seen in a very long time. It was comforting to see such a young love blossoming despite the the cruelty of the world and the insanity of the padded cells of the asylum bearing down upon them everyday of their lives. "Sadly I must be taking you back to your cells now before the shift change, I know that I would change that if I could but sadly it is out of my hands...tonight anyway," he said, motioning for them to follow him, watching as Joseph helped Alice to her feet, wrapping an arm around her for warmth. They followed after him, hands together and fingers entwined as they walked through the halls with Jacques, each grateful for the time together, having never thought they would confess their feelings for one another.

Once outside of Alice's cell, Jacques opened the door then turned his back for them to say their private good-byes, not watching as Joseph cupped Alice's cheek while bending to kiss her lips softly, tenderly, wishing that he did not have to part from her side any sooner than necessary but knowing that they were out of time. "My time with you has been nothing short of amazing Alice, and I fear that I am going to wake up to find that this has all been nothing more than a dream that I fervently wish to come true," he whispered softly against her lips, holding her close. He kissed the top of her head gently, breathing in her scent and becoming lost within it before reluctantly letting her go, kissing her once more, his lips lingering as if trying to make the kiss last throughout the night. "Sweet dreams, my darling, I look forward to being with you again tomorrow at breakfast," he whispered softly, hearing Jacques open his cell door as well as he finally let go to go into his room.

Alice's cheeks were bright pink as she walked into her cell, hearing Jacques close the door behind her while she grabbed her blanket to wrap herself up in it before laying on the floor to look at Joseph through the vent, her eyes meeting his the moment she laid down and a soft smile coming to her lips. "I just had to see you again once more before we go to sleep, my dearest, I couldn't go to bed without that," she whispered through the vent, hearing the shuffling of the shift change as she pressed her hand to the vent, feeling his fingertips against hers as their eyes met once more. "Tis a thousand years years til we meet again, my beloved," she whispered, knowing that she had to move to her bed soon but not wishing to leave him, wanting nothing more than to be with him again. She saw him smile as tears brimmed her eyelids, the connection between them so strong and growing stronger with each passing moment.

"A thousand years but each moment we are apart I shall be dreaming of you and no one but you my darling," Joseph whispered, watching her as they both gently removed their hands from the vent, reluctantly moving to their beds where Joseph drifted off into a dream-filled sleep of Alice. She also slipped into bed just as the orderlies came by to check on them, her eyes closing as a soft smile appeared upon her lips before falling into a deep sleep filled of dreams of Joseph, wishing the morning would come soon so she could return to his embrace.


End file.
